


Evergreen

by carolinecrane



Category: CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-05-06
Updated: 2012-05-06
Packaged: 2017-11-04 22:47:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,153
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/399041
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/carolinecrane/pseuds/carolinecrane
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There are real tree people, and then there are fake tree people.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Evergreen

"Son of a…" Nick pushed a pine-scented branch out of his face and rubbed idly at the fresh scratches on his skin, ducking just in time to avoid another branch as it snapped back at him. "Would you watch it?"

Greg didn't even glance backwards at the sound of Nick's voice; he was already two rows ahead of Nick, bouncing excitedly on the balls of his feet. "Over here, I think I found it."

"Why are we doing this again?" Nick asked when he caught up with the other man, stopping next to Greg and dubiously eyeing the tree in front of him. 

"It's Christmas," Greg answered, rolling his eyes as he circled the tree to get a better look. "Doesn't your family put up a tree?"

"Sure," Nick said, taking a step backwards to clear the way as Greg brushed past him again. "Every year, right in front of the bay window. My mom takes a digital picture and e-mails it to me, sometimes I use it as the background on my computer."

As soon as he said it Greg stopped, forgetting his quest for the perfect tree long enough to turn and fix Nick with a stare that could only be described as pitying. "That's what you do for Christmas? A picture of a tree on your computer?"

Nick shrugged, suddenly feeling as though he should be apologizing for something, although he had no idea what. "It just seems like a hassle to go to all the trouble of getting a tree I'm never home to look at."

Only that wasn't really true anymore, because now that he and Greg were living together he was home a lot more. Ever since that wacko Crane got obsessed with him and tried to take over his life Nick had found all sorts of reasons to be home as little as possible, but once Greg moved in it was almost as though the stalking had never happened. For one thing, it was impossible to feel like the silence was overwhelming him while Greg was around, because even when Greg was being quiet he was _there_ , a palpable presence that Nick wouldn't trade for anything.

And it sounded corny, but having Greg around made his – no, _their_ – house feel warmer somehow, more like someplace he wanted to spend time and less like just a building where he kept his stuff. So he didn't really mind that Greg got into the whole Christmas thing; he'd known that much from four years of watching Greg decorate the trace lab with garland and little plastic Santas and mistletoe that Nick had always been careful to avoid. The part he didn't get was why Greg insisted they go all the way out to the edge of town to pick out a real tree from some vendor who had them trucked in from Wisconsin.

"You know, I've got a fake tree in the attic."

"No," Greg said the same way he did every time Nick brought up the fake tree he'd inherited from his parents when he moved to Vegas. An arm slid around his shoulders and the next thing he knew Greg was dragging him forward, inhaling deeply when they were a few inches from the tree. "Don't you smell that? That's authentic pine, imported all the way from the frozen north. You can practically smell the snow."

"G, it's 60 degrees out here."

Greg rolled his eyes and pulled his arm away, rubbing his hands together as though he could actually feel the winter air he was describing. "That's not the point. It's all part of the experience. Didn't your family ever pile into the Suburban and drive down to the Christmas tree lot when you were a kid?"

"When I was a kid we decorated the tree that's up in our attic. A few years ago my folks bought a new tree with the lights already on it, and I got the old one."

At the mention of pre-installed lights Greg's expression shifted from merely disgusted to actually horrified, and Nick knew he wasn't going to win this argument. Besides, they were already here, and if he had to sacrifice a couple hours to vacuum the pine needles out of the back of his truck it was worth it. Making Greg happy was always worth it, and most of the time it was pretty easy to do. So if he wanted a real tree that's what they'd get, and Nick would learn to adjust.

"So is this the one you want?"

The smile that got him made it worth whatever hassle he was going to go through for the rest of the night, and he didn't bother trying not to grin when Greg waved one of the lot attendants over and supervised the wrapping of their tree. He waited while Greg paid the guy, then helped load it into the back of his Tahoe. 

By the time they got the tree back out of the truck and into the house his hands were covered in sap and he smelled like a pine-scented air freshener, but he didn't even really mind that when Greg leaned in close and breathed in deeply. "Mmm," he murmured against Nick's neck, "you smell good."

"I smell like a Christmas tree," Nick said, realizing too late that it wasn't such a good idea to try to run a sap-covered hand through Greg's hair. "This stuff is never coming off, is it?"

Greg laughed against Nick's neck, his breath warming Nick's skin and sending a shiver down his spine. "I'll teach you the secrets of sap removal after you help me get the tree straight."

He pulled away and dropped to his knees, crawling under the tree to adjust the stand while Nick held it straight. When he was done he stood up again, standing back to survey their work from every angle before he finally decided it was straight enough. "So," he said when he was done, turning to grin at Nick, "this is way better than a fake tree, isn't it?"

Nick tilted his head to the side as though he were actually considering the question; there was a spot on the side of the tree that looked pretty bare to him, and he had a feeling the sharp needles were going to make putting on lights an adventure, to say the least. There were a few needles already on the floor and he had a sinking feeling they'd be finding needles in the carpet until summer, not to mention the fact that they were supposed to remember to keep it watered so it wouldn't dry out and catch fire. 

He spared a thought for the fake tree still sitting in its box exactly where he'd put it when he first moved in, then he smiled and slid an arm around Greg's shoulders, careful not to get sap on his shirt. "Perfect."


End file.
